Indonesia is a country that has abundant fishery resources, both from capture fisheries and aquaculture sub-sectors. This opens up opportunities for the community to develop businesses in the fisheries sector. Moreover, during the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping ornamental fish has become the most popular hobby in Indonesia and even the world. However, this hobby is still hampered by fish that suddenly die just like that due to environmental influences and several diseases.
One of the threats in ornamental fish cultivation is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. From these obstacles, several students of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Diponegoro University initiated an innovation of ketapang leaf extract for ornamental fish. This creation is labeled “Innovation of Ketapang Leaf Extract Products for Water pH Stabilizer and Ornamental Fish Disease Prevention as Economic Support for the Pandemic Era.”
The students group who made this innovation consisted of Meitri Bella Puspa, Yelta Okta Dina, Rizqiana Wulandari, Vebrina Hania Cholily, and Muhammad Thoriq Thirafi under the guidance of lecturer Dr. –Ing. Silviana, S.T., M.T. This research received funding support from the Directorate General of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture for the 2021 Student Creativity Program (PKM) 5 Fields. The liquid extract product from ketapang leaves “ETACARE” is processed according to laboratory procedures and has gone through accredited laboratory tests so that it is safe to be applied to fish ornamental.
The advantages of this product are that it produces clearer water colors than other conventional products and the resulting product is oil-free. This product innovation “ETACARE” provides a guarantee of safety and health for fish in long-term use.